COMMENTARY: Don't give up on Coach Cal just yet

Now is not the time.

The status of John Calipari's future as coach at Kentucky has been a hot topic even though the Wildcats are only three games into the Southeastern Conference portion of the schedule. Two of those games -- at Missouri and Alabama -- have produced losses, with the latest being a 26-point beatdown in Tuscaloosa last Saturday.

Coaching vacancies rarely occur in college basketball in midseason, but an unexpected opening at the University of Texas is the talk of the Bluegrass and the Lone Star State. Calipari's name is being heard loud and clear in both states.

Calipari's name has been linked to the opening since Chris Beard was fired last Friday. It was reported the Longhorns had reached out to the Kentucky coach to gauge his interest.

Calipari denied any contact with Texas on his radio show Monday night. Of course, no one from either side is going to confirm anything during the regular season, which would be unfair to both programs with a lot of basketball left to be played this season.

"I haven't talked to anybody," he said. "My concern right now is my guys, my team, and getting this right. I only want to talk about this job. I love this job. I love this group."

That group, which includes college basketball's reigning Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe, has for some odd reason struggled. The Wildcats began the season ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press Top 25, before going from falling out of the poll to receiving no votes in a span of two weeks.

As for Calipari's commitment to the Wildcats, he has never wavered during his 14-year tenure. He has been true to blue and has a genuine concern for commonwealth on an off the court. However, since his team's gut-wrenching loss to Wisconsin in the Final Four in 2015, things haven't been the same.

Two of those seasons, 2019-20 and 2020-21, could be somewhat excused because of the pandemic, but the two years that have followed haven't necessarily been of a "gold standard," although the Wildcats defeated last year's national champion Kansas during the Big 12-SEC Challenge in Lawrence last year.

The victory was negated by a stunning first-round loss to Saint Peter's in the NCAA Tournament last March and it was a loss that put a damper on an otherwise successful season.

Once a superpower in the Southeastern Conference, Kentucky has struggled on the road with a 1-5 record in games played away from Rupp Arena this season. Undefeated and dominate at home, the Wildcats are suddenly vulnerable on the road.

That's not a good recipe for success, but there's time for Calipari to turn things around. It's an uphill climb from now until Selection Sunday, but as he has said numerous times this season, the team's problems are fixable.

He needs to reach deep into the toolbox while keeping watch on the ticking clock. But the time is not up ... yet.